QuickBird
DATA SHEET
The QuickBird satellite is the first to orbit Earth in DigitalGlobe’s constellation. In April of 2011, DigitalGlobe completed
an orbit raise designed to extend the mission life of the QuickBird sensor. An operational altitude of 482 km was
achieved with an expected gradual descent to 450 km by early 2013. Today, DigitalGlobe’s QuickBird satellite offers
sub-meter resolution imagery, high geolocational accuracy, and large on-board data storage. With global collection of
panchromatic and multispectral imagery, QuickBird is designed to support a wide range of geospatial applications.
Features
Benefits
•Sub-meter resolution
imagery
•Acquire high quality
satellite imagery for map
creation, change detection,
and image analysis
-- 65 cm panchromatic at nadir
-- 2.62 m multispectral at nadir
•High geolocational accuracy
-- Stable platform for precise
location measurement
•Fast large area collection
-- 18.0 km width imaging swath
•High image quality
-- Off-axis unobscured design of
QuickBird’s telescope - Large
field-of-view
-- High contrast (MTF)
-- High signal to noise ratio
•Geolocate features to
create maps in remote
areas without the use of
ground control points
•Collect a greater supply
of frequently updated
global imagery products
•Extend the range of
suitable imaging collection
targets and enhance
image interpretability
•Large on-board data storage
-- 128 gigabits on-board image
storage capacity
QuickBird clean room pre-launch preparations.
The first of DigitalGlobe’s state-of-the-art highresolution commercial imagery satellites.
www.digitalglobe.com
Corporate (U.S.) 303.684.4561 or 800.496.1225 | London +44.20.8899.6801 | Singapore +65.6389.4851
QuickBird
DATA SHEET
Design and Specifications
Collection Scenarios
Launch Information
Date: October 18, 2001
Launch Vehicle: Delta II
Launch Site: SLC-2W, Vandenberg Air Force Base, California
Mission Life
Extended through early 2014
Spacecraft Size
2400 lbs, 3.04 m (10 ft) in length
Orbit
Sensor Resolution
and Spectral Bandwidth
(at nadir)
482 km Altitude
Altitude 482 km
Altitude 450 km
Type: Sun-synchronous,
10:00 am descending node
Period: 94.2 min.
93.6 min
Panchromatic:
65 cm GSD at nadir
Black & White: 405 - 1053 nm
Panchromatic
61 cm GSD at nadir
Multispectral:
2.62 m GSD at nadir
Blue:
430 - 545 nm
Green: 466 - 620 nm
Red:
590 - 710 nm
Near-IR: 715 - 918 nm
Multispectral
2.44 m GSD at nadir
LONG STRIP/
LARGE AREA COLLECT
MULTIPLE POINT
TARGETS
18.0 km
18.0 km
360 km
18.0 km
Dynamic Range
11-bits per pixel
Swath Width
Nominal Swath Width:
18.0 km at nadir
Attitude Determination
and Control
Type: 3-axis Stabilized
Star tracker/IRU/reaction wheels, GPS
Retargeting Agility
Time to slew 200 km: 37 sec
Onboard Storage
128 Gb capacity
Communications
Payload Data: 320 Mbps X-band
Housekeeping: X-band from 4,16 and 256 Kbps, 2 Kbps S-band uplink
Revisit Frequency
(at 40°N Latitude)
2.5 days at 1 m GSD or less
5.6 days at 20° off-nadir or less
Metric Accuracy
23 m CE90, 17 m LE90 (without ground control)
Capacity
200,000 km2 per day
Nominal Swath Width:
16.8 km at nadir
38 sec
450 km Altitude
LONG STRIP/
LARGE AREA COLLECT
2.4 days at 1 m GSD or less
5.9 days at 20° off-nadir or less
MULTIPLE POINT
TARGETS
16.8 km
16.8 km
360 km
16.8 km
Sensor Bands
Panchromatic
Multispectral
All imagery complies with U.S. regulation.
www.digitalglobe.com
DS-QB Rev 6/12
Corporate (U.S.) 303.684.4561 or 800.496.1225 | London +44.20.8899.6801 | Singapore +65.6389.4851